Hot cars and hot weather were on today’s agenda. When I stepped out of the house at 7:45 a.m., (ostensibly to beat the heat at that early hour), I was greeted with a blast of hot and tropical-like air. I felt as if I should be sipping a drink with a tiny umbrella piercing a piece of pineapple and tucking a hibiscus behind my ear.
I immediately changed my plans for a roundtrip trek to Council Point Park, and two loops at that venue, then to bop over to Fort Street to watch Downriver Cruisin’ for a while. At 81 degrees and humidity of 91%, I decided to just minimize my steps and walk along the Cruise route only. What a Summer weenie I am turning into!
I sauntered along Fort Street, then quickly sought shade at Memorial Park when the first dribbles of sweat were running into my eyes. By then, many Mustangs had already arrived for the “Ponies in the Park” event.
The Mustang Owners Club of Southeastern Michigan members gather at Memorial Park during each Cruisin’ Downriver event to display their cars, which range from the original “Pony” to the later models.
As more of the Mustang aficionados arrived, they pulled onto the grassy area, then parked and immediately flipped up their respective car hoods to showcase the pristine engines.
I chitchatted with this guy who was buffing his already-gleaming car with a little wax.
He told me this car is a 2015 model and he drives it year-around and it has 45,000.00 miles on it. I sheepishly admitted I just rolled the odometer to 5,000 miles myself and my car was nine years old. He thought that was pretty funny and I added “I’m an avid walker though and don’t drive as much as I should.”
Since he, like the other Mustang owners, had the hood up, I bent in close to inspect it and take a picture.
As you can see, the engine area was clean as a whistle and I asked about the autographs – two were designers of both the clay mold and finished product of this car, and the other autograph was from a member of Roush Racing.
More and more Mustangs were being driven up and then sidling between their brethren. The meeting had an almost clubby atmosphere, and I’m guessing these owners regularly meet at other cruise events. I meandered around, admiring all the Mustangs from various years, clicking off a few shots of the rows of shiny Ponies, including a few which I remembered as the original Mustang Pony Car circa ’64. I had several friends whose parents passed their “Ponies” onto their offspring. This guy was willing to part with his baby for $30,000.00. It was in prime condition.
I finally tore myself away from “Ponies in the Park” and grabbed a good spot in the shade, but near the curb to check out the cruisers. It was just unbearably hot, even under the big tree. Occasionally, I’d dash out of the shade when I saw an interesting car or truck pass by.
Unfortunately, the cruisers usually use a dedicated lane, (the right-hand lane), for cruising so spectators can see their vehicles up close. This was not happening today as drivers were all over the road and with the traffic flow from the Rouge River Bridge Project, it was hard to get shots of unique or classic cars, but here are a few below. I think the color red ruled, just like the red-hot weather, red was the color of the day.
Despite the A/C running all day, I’ve still heard the bands in the distance …
… as well as the ever-present hum of motors and cars squealing throughout the afternoon, so likely the cruisin’ crowd decided to tough it out on this stifling hot day – we got to 94 degrees today, with a 105-degree heat index. Mercy me!
I may not have gotten all my desired steps in today, but I did enjoy steppin’ back in time.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Hi Linda,
Your hot day seems like my hot day. The heat makes one just want to stay at home. So hot at 7:45 am. It is difficult to get your steps in such weather- yet, you managed. So kudos.
I love red, so what a great assortment of red cars.
Is Mustang a vintage car ? is it expensive?
Susie
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The Mustang came out in 1964, became very popular in 1965 … it seemed like everyone had a “Pony” as they were called. I did not, but they were in high demand. Now that particular model is considered a classic. It would be the least expensive of the bunch, it is a small coupe. I love red too … I actually took many other pictures, but the best photos were of red cars, so I decided to just include the red cars.
I don’t know how you deal with the heat like this day after day. This heat and the humidity was so bad. We have a heat advisory until midnight tonight. And 93 or 94 tomorrow.
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OMG !
The heat.
I planned to “vacation” in the US to escape the heat. Sadly, that was not to be.
🙂
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After hearing that 2/3rds of the U.S. has this heat wave, it probably would not be a good idea Susie. This heat wave will last through this coming Friday … a solid week!
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It was a red hot day!
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It sure was Anne. Tomorrow too … only going to 75 overnight. Hot through Wednesday and afternoon storms daily. I’m ALMOST ready for Fall.
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I’d be ready for Fall, but that would mean the grandsons would be in school again. I saw the thermometer at 88 today. It doesn’t feel as bad in the mountains as elsewhere. Our humidity is not as bad as on Long Island, and it usually cools off at night. Hope you can stay cool.
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Today will be the same as yesterday, but storms late in the day/evening and same through the 4th of July. It’s way too early for this heat nonsense. I don’t like wishing my life away either –
enjoy those grandsons as long as you are able – Labor Day and school bells come soon enough.
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My father had a mustang while we were growing up and I’m sure it would be worth a lot if it still existed. One of my brothers inherited the Mustang gene and now has two (an older one and a newer, re-released model). I’m like you… I have a car but it has very low mileage. Once I retired, I just don’t drive as much. I hope the heat breaks for you soon… that sounds awful.
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Those mustangs always were a nice and sporty-looking vehicle. I think they were more popular than the Pinto that came out in later years – it seemed like everyone drove a Mustang or a Pinto. My car has always been ridiculously low in mileage. When I worked on site, I took the bus and my last car was 21 years old with 64,000 miles on it. My grandmother was still alive then and we made about five roundtrips a year to Toronto and racked up some miles that way. I’ll be glad when it is over Janis – today was just oppressive. We have this heat and daily storms all the way through Independence Day. They said on the news 2/3rds of the country was in the same weather pattern.
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Miss Linda………………………I enjoyed the up-close pictures of the “Ponies in the Park”………………………………….yes I felt a little red hot reading your blog today!
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It was sweltering – did you walk Ann Marie? Even early, there was no relief, and same for this morning and through Independence Day. But we don’t suffer alone, as I heard 2/3rds of the U.S. has this same heat wave. I enjoyed the “Ponies in the Park” more than the actual cruise. There were not as many cars out as I expected – I thought they’d get there very early and not in the afternoon as they might break down. But I could hear the cars up on Fort Street all day … I shut off my computer and still still heard some after the cruise was over. I guess the cruise did not end until 10:00 p.m. – heard that on WWJ. It was always 9:00 p.m. in the past. Stay cool my friend.
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Looks like fun, Linda. 🙂 Those car buffs are definitely clean-freaks. Shine on, shine on! My older bro, Marty, has a 70’s something Mustang, and he continues to attend events like this in our region.
Red certainly reigned supreme there yesterday. In our case, red rained supreme on the radar screen, and the two storms that passed through left 3 inches of precipitation, but also cooled things off considerably. “YaY!”
Have a great Sunday! Cheerz, UT
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I usually pop down there every year and check it out. Sometimes it has poured raining and it is a poor turnout. This is the first weekend it has not rained in weeks. Memorial weekend was overcast/rainy on the Saturday but the rest of the time we had a heat wave like we have now. The cars are interesting to look at – I took a lot of pics, but decided in putting together the post that the best pics were all red cars, so I discarded the rest. The Mustang owners were a nice and friendly group so chatted them up for a while. It was so hot yesterday, I was surprised they stayed all afternoon, but I can hear them. It sounds like a bunch of buzzing mosquitoes from the constant hum of the cars along Fort Street.
We had a storm come through the northern burbs about three hours ago. I understand it developed and stormed and was a torrential rain, all within 30 minutes. We did not get it, but will tonight. We have hot weather every day and storms every afternoon/evening all this week. You were lucky it cooled you off, otherwise you’d be hunkering down in your house all week for vacation.
Enjoy your week off. I am late publishing this today. Now to catch up with other comments and in Reader as well. A blogger’s work is never done!
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Great pictures!😊 Ford Mustang is the most popular car to import to Sweden. People here like the old ones from 1965 and forward.
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I took a ton of pictures John but in the end I decided to just use the red cars images as they seemed the most close-up and vibrant. You would have liked the “Ponies in the Park” event. I’m sure many more cars arrived after I left. I made sure to include that 1965 Mustang for $30,000.00 so you could see it as you mentioned classic cars and their prices, etc. the other day. That 1965 Pony car is my favorite … that style set the Ford Mustang apart from any other car at the time and people hung onto them for years … the modern-day Mustangs now look like any other compact car, not so much a muscle car nowadays.
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Old cars are so much more interesting than new cars!
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Sounds like a lovely day and although you may not have got your steps in, it sounds like it was a lovely day. I chuckled at your comparison in miles on the Odometer between yourself and the man but as you said, you are an avid walker. Think of the lovely views you have seen In nature instead of zooming past them .
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I agree with you Zena that walking in nature and taking my time are such a joy rather than zooming past them in a car. I do look forward to my walk every morning. This year I got a special access pass when I renewed my driver’s license to be able to get into some of Michigan’s state parks. But this is something I have to do on a weekend or holiday when I have more time, and it has rained or been sickening hot every weekend or holiday since mid-April. Today for the Fourth of July holiday, it was very hot and humid as well and my handyman came to clean the gutters. He got behind with his outside work for customers as he has had an inside kitchen remodeling job the past three weeks, and when he has outside jobs, was working against this rainy schedule. I told him he could wait til it was cooler, but he said he was used to working in the heat. I was glad to see him back on the ground and safe after checking the shingles on the roof, tarring around the base of the chimney and doing the gutters. This weekend will be nice weather and I am looking forward to it – the Summer zips by so quickly!
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Hey kiddo, I wouldn’t call you a “summer weenie”… more like a “summer smarty”! Personally I can’t stand such heat, as in the heat wave of the past two weeks when many people *died* – but that humidity on top of it is just abominable! I’ve been staying in a LOT.
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It isn’t my cup of tea either Ellie, and for me, who whined about the Winter so much, it is aggravating that we have had no real Spring and launched into August-like weather back in May. They said two days of cooler weather this weekend … yesterday it was cooler, and today when I got home around noon it was 81 degrees. Sorry, but I don’t call that coolish. I am becoming a weather malcontent.
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Join the club! Montreal is full of weather malcontents! Ha, love that term!
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I was just chatting with a fellow blogger from Vancouver. She teaches Grade I and is an avid runner. She told me that it rains in Vancouver 200 days a year and said it might be even more days than that. She runs in the rain because she said, if I waited for a dry day, I’d never get any running in.
Now, when I think of Vancouver, I think of a place that would be desirable for me as there is no snow and it is warm and scenic … I don’t think I’d go for rain 200+ days a year. I moaned and groaned about all the rain we’ve had since mid-April. Up to the last week, we were having rain almost daily there for a while.
Besides being a malcontent, I am a “weather worrier” – can’t help myself. I’m not for everyone I guess (not that I want to be).
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If you obsess a lot about things you can’t control, such as weather, you aren’t doing yourself any favours. But I guess you know that.
Re Vancouver, a cousin of mine lives there with her SO and they are very outdoorsy people. It’s gorgeous, you should at least visit. Oh, and my son lived & worked there from 1996 to 2006; he loved it. First time I visited him for 10 days in summer, it was sunny & hot and only rained the day I left! The second time was in winter, was cool and rained part of the time, but sure beat the snow and ice and frigid temps here.
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